2021 Green Bike Big Dog Review

Video Review

Written Review

Power — Bafang geared hub, 750 nominal watts, 1200 peak watts, 80 Nm torque 

Speed  — 28 mph

Battery and Range — 48 volt 15 ah, 50 miles

Pedal assist sensor — Cadence sensor

Display — Bafang, LCD

Frame and weight — 6061 Aluminum alloy, 61 lbs, 300 lbs load capacity

Suspension —  Mozo, 140 mm travel

Gearing — Shimano Altus, 7 speed

Brakes — Green Bike, hydraulic disc, 160 mm rotors

Warranty — 12 month comprehensive

Price — Starting at $1,999 USD

What is going on, awesome peeps and welcome back to another episode of Electrified Reviews! I hope you’re having an amazing day and enjoying this very, very hot summer.

Today we’re reviewing the Green Bike Big Dog Extreme. This is a folder with some attitude, and honestly, it’s just a great ride all around. We’ve reviewed quite a few electric bikes from Green Bike and this company does an excellent job at picking and choosing the right components. And the Big Dog Extreme is no exception. This folding electric bike is powerful, fast, compact and perhaps most importantly, it’s comfy. 

The Big Dog Extreme has a starting price of $1,999 USD and comes in two main colors — black and white — with quite a few variations on the accent colors, including red, silver, orange and gold. Which is nice because it adds a level of customization. And speaking of customization, you can also upgrade the battery from a 15 ah to a 21 ah for an extra $200, which we definitely recommend doing because honestly it’s a pretty good deal and when it comes to extra range it’s a “better to have it and not need it” sort of deal you know I mean?

Alright, let’s dive into the specs!

The Big Dog Extreme has a Bafang 750 watt geared hub motor with 80 Newton meters of torque and it can also boost up to 1200 peak watts for the big hills. And while the Big Dog Extreme isn’t exactly geared for off-road hill climbs, it’s surprisingly powerful, thanks partly to the mechanical advantage offered by the smaller 20 inch by 4 inch Innova fat tires, and partly to the fact that we’re working with a Bafang motor here. 

And this motor can bring the Big Dog Extreme up to an unlocked top speed of 28 mph, which can be reached using the throttle or the cadence sensing pedal assist. Now, what’s cool is that even though the Big Dog Extreme is a folding electric bike, it still feels super stable even at top speed. That’s pretty rare, and I think there’s two reasons for this stability. First of all, there’s quality components all around, and second the tire profile of these Innovas are just, mwah. Chef’s kiss. Honestly they’re perfect, and they really give the Big Dog Extreme a moto feel, especially when cornering. You really gotta lean into it.

Now we’ve mentioned it 100 times before and we’ll mention it again, cadence sensors are notorious for having some latency with motor activation and deactivation, and the Big Dog Extreme is no different. It can take a second for the motor to kick on once you’ve started pedaling, and sometimes it can take a second for it to shut off when you stop pedaling. But that’s not really a big deal here because, again, the Big Dog Extreme isn’t geared for extreme off-road use, so you don’t really need the hyper precision offered by a torque sensor. Besides, you can overcome the latency with the throttle and the motor inhibitors with the brakes when you need to.

The battery on the Big Dog Extreme is a 48 volt 15 amp hour with a max estimated range of about 50 miles. And for those of you who want even juice there’s also a 21 amp hour battery you can upgrade to for another $200 bucks. Now, since the battery and the motor are located in the rear of the Big Dog Extreme, this ride is a bit back heavy. You can’t really feel it while riding, but when you pick it up by the built-in handle, it does kind of want to tip backwards a bit. 

Green Bike planned ahead here with this silverfish style battery. Normally with silverfish style batteries you have to remove the entire seat post before you can remove the battery. But the saddle on the Big Dog Extreme has a latch underneath that allows it to tilt forward. And that does make a difference when it comes to removing the battery. You know what, let’s talk about this saddle, because it’s super dope. As far as looks go, we’re giving it two thumbs up. The studs are a good touch. But more than that, it’s comfy, especially with that seat post suspension. The only downside here is that because it’s so wide, it can make pedaling for long distances a bit uncomfortable. This also adds to the moto vibe of the Big Dog Extreme and makes me think that while, sure, you can pedal this bike around all day if you really want to, it really would just be more fun to ride it like a moped. 

Thankfully, the Big Dog Extreme weighs in at a relatively light 61 pounds. The frame is made from aluminum alloy and has a 300 pound carry capacity. The rear storage rack bolts directly to the frame for added strength, and is great for strapping a few pizzas to, or whatever else you might need to carry.

In the back we’ve got a Shimano Altus 7-speed derailleur, which is a nice little upgrade point, and it’s paired with a Shimano SIS Index thumb shifter. The steel derailleur cage and aluminum bash guard are also nice features that add an extra layer of protection from strikes. 

To bring the Big Dog Extreme to a stop we’ve got Green Bike hydraulic disc brakes with 160 mm rotors in the front and rear wheels. These brakes are great and offer more than enough stopping power. They’ve also got motor inhibitors built into the brake levers which automatically cuts power to the motors whenever they’re depressed. This is a great safety feature and something you absolutely want on an ebike that goes over 28 mph. 

The Mozo suspension have around 140 mm of travel and do a good job of smoothing out small bumps, but they’ll bottom out pretty easily so keep that in mind before tackling any sweet jumps. 

The headlight on the Big Dog Extreme is fairly bright, and also has a horn built into it. It’s actually a cool little feature you can use to alert people up ahead far in advance so you don’t scare them. 

Wire management on the Big Dog Extreme is excellent with everything grouped up and bundled together, and even wrapped in one single nylon sheath. Such a nice touch. They’re not internally routed, but that’s okay. Most folders don’t have internally routed wires because it’s just too easy for them to get pinched when folding and unfolding. 

Speaking of folding and unfolding, it just takes a few seconds. There’s a two-stage lock in the middle of the frame, and a single-stage lock on the handlebars. Drop those and the entire bike folds in half and gets into a pretty small package. You can also fold in the pedals if you need to save a few more inches. 

The Bafang display on the Big Dog Extreme is awesome. You can see it super easy in direct sunlight without any problem whatsoever. On the left side of the handlebars we have the light and horn buttons and the independent button pad, and on the right side of the handlebars we’ve got the thumb throttle and shifter. 

See more of the Big Dog Extreme: https://www.greenb